1 + 1 + 1

(and counting)

"You'll be fine," her father had said. He'd kissed her on the head too, and given her a lopsided smile. "Ryoutarou's a little grumpy, but his wife and son are the friendliest people you'll ever meet."

"Dad." She pouted. "I'm almost seventeen years old now. Even if they don't like me, I'll be fine."

And yet, when Seta Nanako first stepped off the train platform at Yasoinaba Station, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness. Doujima looked just as grumpy as she'd expected, but his son was tiny and terribly empty-looking, as if he'd just up and disappear if he stopped clinging to his father's hand. And it was just the two of them, standing there in the first faint droplets of an oncoming April shower. "Um, hello," she said, smiling, ready to do anything to break the tension. "Is Aunt Naomi waiting in the car…?"

Doujima winced visibly, then tried to cover it up with a tired smile. "My sister didn't tell you, did she." The little boy clung tighter to his hand. "She passed away."

Smooth, thought Nanako, wondering if it might be smarter to bolt back into the station and throw herself on the tracks. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I-I'll just put my things in the car."

The ride back was no better; all silence and awkwardness, when Nanako had been looking forward to having a real conversation with her family-to-be. Halfway through, Souji leaned up between the two front seats with a distressed expression on his face. "You have to go?" said Doujima, looking irritated. "Can't it wait until we get back?"

Souji shook his head.

Grumbling, his father pulled into a nearby gas station. "Go on then," he said. "Do I hafta come with you?"

Another headshake from Souji. Nanako caught a flash of empty gray eyes before the boy was gone, scampering straight past the gas attendant without so much as a word. Doujima got out as well, and Nanako followed, a little hesitant. "D'you have to go too?" asked her uncle, pulling out a cigarette.

Nanako lowered her eyes. "No," she said. "I just didn't want to sit in the car alone." A pause. She really didn't want to ask the wrong question again, not at this point. And yet … "That's Souji, right?"

Doujima puffed on his cigarette. "Yeah." Seeing her discomfort, he gave her a weary smile. "It's not just you. He doesn't talk to anyone." Exhale. "Ever since..."

She looked up at him. "Uncle Doujima?"

But her uncle had already turned away, towards a nearby gas attendant. "Fill 'er up." Then, back to Nanako: "I'll be back in a minute."

As soon as he was out of earshot, the gas attendant smiled sympathetically. "New to this place?" he said. Or was it a she?

"Yeah," said Nanako. Her long brown hair was quickly becoming soaked in the rain. She'd have to pull down her pigtails and redo them once they got back. "I guess it's okay, so far."

"Well, if you ever need a part-time job, I don't think we'd mind having a cute girl around," said the attendant, winking. Boys, thought Nanako, as she tried to feel flattered rather than creeped out. "Welcome to Inaba," he said, offering his hand.

She jumped then, startled by the spark of energy that passed between them. But it wasn't until much later that she remembered the event, and realized.

*

For the fourth time that week, Nanako returned to a nearly-empty house. She couldn't complain too much — school had been a whirlwind of activity, including her creation of what Chie had quickly dubbed the Power Trio. ("Yousuke can go break DVDs with someone else for a while," she'd huffed, though that hadn't stopped the guy from tagging along anyway.) Not to mention the Midnight Channel, and Saki-senpai …

"Uncle's still not back yet?" she said to nobody in particular, her face falling. Her own parents had been incredibly busy; she'd been looking forward to actually having someone around the house. It just wasn't fair.

Something rustled in the living room, and shortly, a gray-haired head popped up from behind the table. Souji's pleased expression quickly faded into disappointment, however, once he saw that she wasn't Doujima. He settled back onto the floor with a heavy thump.

"Oh … sorry," she said, feeling a pang of guilt. After ditching her shoes and necktie, she came over and sat down next to him. "You were waiting for him, weren't you," she said, propping her feet up against a pillow. "I know what that feels like."

Her cousin thunked his head against the table. He'd set out supermarket dinners for three people, but now one of the places was likely to go to waste. Again.

"Well, if he's not going to eat his dinner," she said, sighing heavily, "we should do something fun with it."

Souji slowly lifted his head, curious.

"Nothing horrible," she said, giggling a little. "I was just thinking …" She unwrapped one of the rice balls and set the nori aside, focusing instead on the rice ball itself. From that, she sculpted two eyes and a mouth, using the umeboshi as a round little red nose. To that, she added thick rectangular nori eyebrows.

Souji peered intently at her work, still silent. But after a moment, he unpeeled the second rice ball and began tearing up the nori as well. Doujima's dinner quickly grew hair and a mustache. Once they were done, Nanako grinned. "There," she said. "That's a good punishment."

Souji didn't laugh. He barely made any noise at all, save the quiet rustle of tatami as he moved back to his seat at the table. But Nanako caught him with a small, secret smile on his face, and that was good enough.

*

"So you got stuck, huh? That's kinda realistic for a dream."

Nanako fought the urge to stamp the ground with one foot. She didn't need any more people staring at her, not with what she was planning to do next. "It wasn't a dream! I know it wasn't! I'll prove it!" And before either Chie or Yousuke could protest, she grabbed both of them by the shoulders and forced them to stick their heads in. There was a terrible dizzying moment, as all three of them clung to a thin windowsill opening out to a great vasty nothingness.

"Holy — "

"How did you—!?"

"I told you — "

In retrospect, Nanako realized, she shouldn't have leaned quite so far in. Because it really was quite a long way to the bottom, especially with Chie and Yousuke landing in a heap on top of her.

*

"Why should we trust you, huh?" said Yousuke, hands crossed over his chest. "You're practically putting a gun to our heads!"

Teddie assumed a fighting stance, holding his paws up in front of his face. "Grrrr! You're really making me angry!"

Before either Chie or Yousuke could argue with the bear further, Nanako rushed in and grasped one paw with both hands. "Of course we'll promise!" she said. "You're too cute not to trust."

"Cute?" said Yousuke, incredulous.

"Cute?" echoed Teddie, his eyes filling with tears. "Nanako-chan…"

Nanako nodded. "Of course," she said, smiling brightly. "Don't listen to them, okay?" Her smile sharpened. "They're being very, very stupid."

"Why do I get the feeling we've been overruled…?" said Chie.

Yousuke just groaned and shook his head. "Girls."

*
"Oooooh, what's this?" purred Yukiko's Shadow. "Three princes are here to see me? My my."

Chie started. "Three princes…? Wait, does that include me and…?"

Yukiko's shadow glided forward. The atmosphere, already thick from tension and the smoky heat emitted by the castle itself, seemed even heavier here, especially as the Shadow traced satin-gloved fingers up Nanako's neck. She smelled like cinnamon and incense, thick and rich and dark. "Chie's a strong Prince, but not strong enough," said the Shadow, hooking her fingers under Nanako's chin and tilting her face up. "I like this one better."

*

After another late afternoon spent training in the TV world, Nanako returned home to find Souji alone at the living room table. This time, he picked at his homework with a worried expression, barely even glancing up when Nanako walked in. "I'm home," she said, as cheerfully as she could. "Oh! Is that homework?"

Souji nodded. He bit his lip, staring woefully at the paper in front of him. Math homework, from what she could see.

"Do you want some help…?" she asked, kneeling next to him. A quick look of gratitude from him was all the response she needed. "Okay, here. Addition and subtraction are really easy. For example…" She really wished she had pockets; having some coins to work with would have been nice. "There's three of us in the family now, right? With me, anyway." She counted on her fingers. "You and Uncle make two. And plus one — " she pointed to herself, "— makes three."

Souji hesitated. Then he stared steadily at the empty place where, as usual, Doujima failed to be present.

"You mean Uncle," said Nanako. "Well, he can still count. Even when he isn't here."

Once again, Souji hesitated. Then he held up four fingers instead, looking at a different spot at the table.

"Huh?" said Nanako, feeling a bit stupid. "Who else isn't … oh," she said, softly. "Your mother."

Souji nodded slightly. He stared at his fingers for a long moment, then folded down one of them, so that only three remained. Then another. He hovered over the penultimate one, flashing her an uncertain look.

"I'm right here," said Nanako, firmly. She reached out to Souji's hand and uncurled one of the fingers. "And Uncle's here too, even when he isn't. Because he should be here."

Before she could say anything else, Souji suddenly leaned into her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She resolved right then that she would talk to Doujima about Souji ASAP, even if it meant weeks of practicing how to bring up the subject tactfully.

*
"You know, you're a bad parent."

Doujima looked up, his mouth hanging slightly open. "What?"

Nanako sat across from him at the table, her dark brown eyes boring into his. It had taken weeks to corner Doujima properly, and she wasn't about to let him get away now. "You're a bad parent," she said. "Why aren't you ever home?"

"Is that what this is about?" Doujima's mouth closed, becoming a firm, stubborn line. "Look, I can't expect you to understand. But my job keeps me very busy."

"I know that," said Nanako. She clenched her hands against her knees, fingers bunching along the edge of her skirt. "I'm not saying that's bad. But I barely see you talk to Souji, even when you are home."

Doujima sighed. "There's more to parenting than talking," he said. "I have to take care of something."

"What?" demanded Nanako. "What's more important than your family?"

Before the argument could progress any further, Souji suddenly appeared between them. He held a picture book, and his eyes darted between Doujima and Nanako, obviously nervous. "Souji?" Doujima paused, surprised, then saw the book in Souji's hands. "… I'll read to you some other night," he said. "Go on up to bed."

Souji hugged the book tighter to his chest.

"Go on," said Doujima again, his face softening. "We're not fighting, all right?"

Finally, Souji nodded. He shot the two of them one last worried glance before padding into his room just as silently as he had come.

"… like that," said Nanako. "Why can't you even read to him?"

Somehow, Doujima managed to look even more tired. "Don't you have to study for a test this week?"

"Last week."

Doujima scowled. "Then you can go to bed early. We're done talking."

"But—"

"I said we're done." And with that, he gathered up his files in one swoop, storming out of the kitchen and back towards his bedroom.

In his haste, however, he'd forgotten one newspaper clipping. Nanako bent to retrieve it. Hit-and-run accident kills mother, it read. The child accompanying her was uninjured, but mentally damaged. And a picture as well: Doujima and Souji dressed in black, standing in front of the family gravestone.

Nanako slipped the clipping into her pocket. Next time, I'll ask him for sure, she thought. Next time.

*

All of their glasses were cute, especially the novelty ones Teddie had made for Yukiko. But Nanako knew Teddie liked her the best — why else would her glasses have a row of cute pink hearts?

*

"Risette's coming to town? Really?"

"Whoa, leader," said Yousuke, laughing. "Save some excitement for the rest of us."

Nanako settled back into her chair. Even in her light pink tank top, she still felt ungodly hot in the summer heat. "I'm allowed," she said, allowing herself a tiny pout. "It's Risette."

Before the gang could settle into their usual pre-TV planning, however, Nanako blinked suddenly and stood up. Souji sat alone at one of the Junes picnic tables, staring down at his feet. "Hang on guys …"

"Oh. Is that your cousin?" said Yukiko.

Kanji rubbed at his head. "Cute little fella."

Meanwhile, Nanako leaned over her tiny cousin, hands on her knees. "Souji?" she said. "How'd you get here?"

The boy looked around. Eventually, he pointed towards a mother and her son, about the same age as Souji; Nanako had seen the two of them playing together the previous week.

"Why aren't you playing with him, then?" said Nanako, not unkindly.

Souji glanced over at the table she'd come from. It took her a moment to realize that the expression on his face was a jealous one. Well, as jealous as tiny seven-year-olds got, anyway. "You wanna sit with us?" she said, a bit perplexed.

"Aww," said Chie. "C'mon, bring the little guy over. We won't bite."

"Except Kanji," said Yousuke.

"Huh? Why would I wanna bite 'im?"

Yukiko shuddered. Then she giggled a little, followed by a full-on laughing fit. "Kanji … biting someone … "

Meanwhile, Nanako led her tiny cousin back to the table by one hand. He smiled shyly at the rest of the group, before plunking himself in a chair of his very own. "There," she said, giving him her brightest smile. He returned it with one of his own — much shyer, but still genuinely pleased. "Okay, where were we?"

"S-should we?" said Yukiko, only just now catching her breath. "In front of him, I mean?"

Souji gave her a pleading look, which was wholly unnecessary. "I think he'll be okay," she said. "He's a tough little guy."

*

From that point on, Souji almost always shadowed Nanako whenever she made a trip to Junes. He never came with them to the electronics section, of course, but he would sit in on their pre-training meetings, and sit outside with the spare member until Nanako had finished for the day. He spoke about as much as usual — which was not at all, much to her friends' surprise. But he would listen intently to their conversations, almost as if he were trying to work out the mystery ahead of them. After the first couple weeks, he even started bringing a tiny sketchbook with him, in which he would draw and scrawl notes with alarming accuracy.

"What'd you draw today?" she asked after one such trip.

Souji proudly held up his sketchbook for her perusal. He'd drawn black blobs of various shapes and sizes, each with malevolent-looking eyes and tiny stick arms poking out at strange angles. And above them, one word: "Shadow."

"— Shadow? You understood all that?"

Souji nodded, flipping to several more pages in his book. The visuals were inaccurate, but Nanako could still clearly identify several very key drawings. Such as stick figures of the group, with each of them summoning a monster out of their heads. Or Yukiko in a princess outfit. And even one very awkward-looking talking teddie bear…

Oh no, thought Nanako. "Souji, you can't show these to Uncle Doujima," she said, quickly becoming alarmed. "Do you understand?"

Souji's face fell. But he nodded slowly, clutching the sketchbook to his chest.

"… don't make that face," said Nanako. "You can still come. As long—" she added quickly, before Souji could get too excited, "—as you don't tell anyone about this. Okay?"

The boy nodded. And then he did something quite different: he started to hum. Off-key, and almost tuneless, but it was still the first sound she'd ever heard him make.

"Is that the Junes song?" said Nanako, reaching out for his hand again.

Souji nodded again.

She grinned. "Cheater! You know that's my favorite." And she launched into her own, slightly more on-key rendition of the tune, with Souji's humming as backup.

*

"Urgh. It's so hot out! I'm taking this off."

"Wait, you're not talking about your head, are you!?" Yousuke glanced nervously at Souji, who'd spent the entire meeting staring very intently at their mascot friend. "Cut it out! There's kids watching!"

"Actually," said Teddie, dancing a little in place, "I'm no longer a hollow bear! Mwahaha!"

Before anyone could stop him, Teddie lifted the top off his "costume." The glisten of sweat — the sparkle of blond hair in the sunlight — and Nanako found herself staring at a very human-looking Teddie. "Ahh~ Much better!" he said, taking a long drink of Nanako's soda. "Now I can really score!"

The group stared. "T-teddie…?" Chie stammered. "Is that really…?"

Teddie flashed all of them a grin — in more ways than one. He was very very naked under that costume now, a fact almost as distracting as all the sparkles. But before he could respond, he suddenly leaned backwards, as if suddenly unbalanced. "Whoa! B-be gentle back there!"

Souji popped his head up next to Teddie's, apparently unconcerned by the fact that he'd just crawled into a costume with a rather sweaty human. "— whoa, whoa!" said Yousuke. "D-don't get in there! You don't know where it's been!"

Souji responded by sinking lower into the costume, so that only his gray hair poked out over the top. "Oh, Souji," said Nanako, helping him climb out. "You can climb in later, promise. But not while he's naked, okay?"

"I wouldn't mind if one of the girls~ climbed in—"

"No."

*

As the days grew cooler, Nanako spent more and more time at Junes. Not because she needed the training — none of them did, not with all the leveling they'd been doing — but because Souji absolutely loved their group, and vice versa. Even when they left him to go to the electronics section, he would happily sit with whoever had been left behind that day, either silently listening or bringing out his sketchbook. And he was always fascinated by Teddie, especially if the latter had decided to wear his costume that day. (Which meant that Teddie ended up rather under-leveled, compared to the others, but that was just a sacrifice Nanako would have to make.)

They came home after one such trip, with dinner on their arms and the usual rendition of the Junes theme on their lips. "We're home," she said, though she knew the house would be empty. Doujima always worked late on Monday nights.

Which made it all the more startling when he rose from his usual seat at the living room, his expression dark and worried. "Where were you?"

She stiffened; Souji clasped her hand tightly and immediately closed his sketchbook, holding it behind his back. "O-oh," she said. "Just Junes. And Souji really likes coming along, so…"

"This late?" Doujima pointed at the clock; it was nearly seven already. "What do you even do there?"

Souji hung his head. "Does it matter?" Nanako said, fighting back a sudden rush of anger. "You're never here when we get back! It's not fair!"

"It's not about what's fair," said Doujima. "It's about what's safe. I don't want you two staying out this late."

"At least I spend time with him."

"I've told you, my job — "

"It's not just your job!"

Doujima started. "What did you just say?"

Nanako brandished the newspaper clipping. "It's this, isn't it?" she said. She knew she was on shaky ground here, especially when she'd just barely escaped questioning herself, but she just couldn't help it. "Aunt Naomi died in a hit-and-run. And Souji…"

Souji had drawn in on himself again, looking absolutely miserable. "We're not fighting," said Doujima, before Nanako could continue. His fingers twitched for a nonexistent cigarette. "If you want to talk about this," he said, with a glance that clearly added and you'd better really want to talk about this, "I'll be outside." And with that, he stormed out onto the back porch, slamming the door in his wake.

Nanako tightened her grip on Souji's hand. "I'm sorry," she said in as soothing a tone as she could manage. "We're not fighting, I promise. I just have to talk to him."

The boy nodded dumbly and detached. Once he had returned to his room, Nanako reluctantly crossed the living room to the back porch. As promised, Doujima sat on the edge of the porch, cigarette smoke clinging close to his body. "I want to know where you got that clipping from," he said, not looking up at her.

"… you dropped it," she said. It was a clear night; she could see a few faint stars in the early evening darkness. "Weeks ago. I-I honestly wanted to return it earlier, but…"

Doujima tapped his cigarette against the side of the porch. "But you didn't."

"I didn't mean to!" said Nanako, trying not to get angry again. "I meant to ask you about it, but…"

"You've been spending all your time at Junes. For god knows what ridiculous reason." Doujima sighed.

Nanako remained silent. She really, really didn't want to get into that just yet. Fortunately, Doujima spoke up again. "They were walking home from preschool together," he said. His voice seemed half soft, half vulnerable — and all exhausted. "I was busy with work, so she would always go to pick him up. Then…"

"… then she was hit by someone," said Nanako. She slowly lowered herself to the porch, until she sat next to him, her feet barely touching the grass beneath them. "And … and he was there, right?"

Doujima nodded. "He used to talk constantly," he said, with a dry, humorless chuckle. "To me, to anybody who would listen. The emergency workers said he'd been yelling for help the whole time, that by the time they got to him, his voice was gone." He exhaled. "He hasn't spoken since."

Mentally damaged, the article had said. But he was still quite smart, if his notes were any indication. And he could hum just fine. Without really thinking about it, Nanako lifted her hand. Four people, she thought. One gone. And without me… She folded three of them down, until only her pinky remained. "He's lonely," she said, very quietly. "He wants a family. He wants you."

Doujima's face hardened. "He'll forgive me when he grows up," he said. The cigarette had burned down to a stub; he extinguished it against the porch and rose, slinging his jacket over one shoulder. "I can't lose him right now."

Nanako remained on the porch for a long time.

*
"Kanji-kun shouldn't worry so much about what people think," said Nanako, sitting next to him under the pavilion. From up here, she had a wonderful view of Inaba — and of Kanji, incidentally, who had turned a rather interesting shade of red. "Besides," she said, "I think it's cute."

Kanji sat up. "C-cute? … really?"

She nodded, giving him a big smile. "Of course! You saw how much Souji liked his doll, right?"

"… yeah."

"I'm jealous, really," continued Nanako brightly. "I wish I could make things like that."

Kanji rubbed at the back of his head, his blush deepening. "Uh, if y'wanted, I could … uh … "

"Hmm?"

"Icouldteachyoumaybe."

"Really? You mean it?"

Kanji had the honor of being the first of the boys allowed into Nanako's room; he definitely would not be the last.

*

It happened during one of their many planning sessions. Between dungeons and between leads, the group had grown frustrated; even Souji's usually blank expression had been replaced by a solemn frown. And then Adachi had meandered by, dropped a bit of pertinent information, gotten the group fired up again — but Souji's frown only deepened. By the time they were ready to go home, he seemed almost scared. Not even an offer to climb in Teddie's suit or a cuddle with the fox had been able to break his mood.

He remained silent all the way home. Nanako opened the door for the both of them — only to be greeted by warmth, light, and noisy conversation. "Uncle?" she said. "Who's here?"

"— oh, hey!" Adachi gave a little wave. "Fancy seeing you again."

"S'too quiet in here," said Doujima, his face bright red from intoxication. "So I says, 'Adachi, you gotta come back tonight. S'too quiet.'"

Adachi laughed nervously. "He's very persuasive. And I couldn't let him walk home like this, so…"

"Adachi."

Nanako whirled. She could have sworn she'd heard — but he couldn't have —

"Adachi," repeated Souji. He gripped her hand tightly. "Adachi, Adachi…"

For a split second, Nanako thought she saw the detective's face contort. And then he was all smiles again, reaching out to tap Doujima on the knee. "Whoa!" said Adachi. "Did you hear that?"

"Wha?"

"He said my name! I feel like I should have a video camera, or something…"

Nanako wished she could be as happy as Adachi was about this. Hell, she wished Souji was happier about it. Her cousin trembled like a leaf, seemingly torn between fear and staring at the detective, as if the man would escape the moment Souji looked away. "… c'mon, Souji," she said, kneeling next to him. "It's okay. He's Uncle's friend. You don't have to be scared."

But Souji only shook his head. Adachi, Adachi — the most she'd heard out of him yet, and it was the only word he seemed to know. For the next couple weeks, he remained more withdrawn than usual, especially once the detective started coming to see the group whenever he happened to be at Junes. (The boy very quickly made a point of not coming with them on Tuesdays.) Every now and then, he would attempt to write something out, or show her a sketch he'd made, but Nanako simply couldn't make any sense of it. Not when she had midterms and the case and half a million social links to take care of. (Ai, the rival team manager, was definitely the most demanding; trying to catch the attention of Kou was also less than simple.)

On one particular Tuesday, she returned home to find Souji watching the news. "Hey little bro," she said, sitting next to him. "Do you wanna turn to the weather after this?"

Souji nodded. He rested his elbows against one of the floor pillows, legs tilting slowly back and forth in midair.

"— in other news, we visited a local grade school this week," the reporter said. "We took the liberty of collecting a few of their comments in response to a police survey conducted last week…"

An image flashed onscreen; Nanako recognized the old, squat building as being Souji's grade school. "That's your school, isn't it?" she said. "Did you get interviewed too?"

Souji stared flatly at her.

"Don't give me that look," said Nanako, sighing. "I meant the survey."

Her cousin cocked his head to one side, thoughtfully. The reporter was reading off several of the comments now—especially one in particular, which the policed had labeled as being particularly thoughtful. At that, he grew agitated, his flat gray eyes completely focused on the TV.

"Oh! That was yours, wasn't it," said Nanako. "Congratulations, little bro."

Souji gave her a small, shy smile. But other than that… if anything, he seemed more agitated than he had been before. She could see him reaching for his sketchbook in another doomed attempt to explain something to her. "Here, let's watch the weather," she said, flipping the channel. "That's better, right?"

Souji didn't reply. He just continued to scrawl in his sketchbook all evening, with only the occasional glance up to see if she was paying attention.

She wasn't.

"I'm going to start bringing a book," said Yousuke, staring up at the entranceway of Naoto's dungeon. Nanako and her team were inside already; they probably wouldn't be out for hours.

"Then bring it," said Kanji. He had laid out a sewing kit and fabric, and was well on his way to making a new dress for Souji's doll."

"I thought she liked me," said Teddie mournfully. "Where did we go wrong? What did we do to deserve such a cruel, neglected fate?"

"Girls," said Yousuke, to which they all agreed.

*

"I'm glad Naoto-kun is a girl," said Nanako, still flush with the excitement of figuring out that last clue.

To her surprise, Naoto reddened deeply. "I .. see," she said slowly, eyes drifting away from Nanako's gaze. "Might I ask why?"

"Well," said Nanako, giving the matter some thought, "I like Naoto-kun no matter what. But I'm especially glad you're a girl."

"Because…?"

Nanako considered. "Naoto-kun is every cute girl. And besides," she added, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "this way we can have an all-girl party!"

"An all-girl…"

"Yep! I mean, I could sort of pretend with Kanji-kun, but…"

Naoto sighed deeply, but her blush did not subside. "I see," she said. "Very well, sempai."

*

Ever since the night Adachi came back to Doujima's home, Souji had refused to open the door to him, no matter how much Nanako insisted on Adachi's harmlessness. But he didn't think to shut out the delivery man, not on a Tuesday, when there was no one else home to sign for a package, or hear him scream —

*

Nanako could have kicked herself. Could have done worse, if not for the fact that her little bro needed her right now. Every tiny delay sharpened the guilt digging into her heart, until she could barely sleep at night. Meanwhile, the team blazed through Heaven as quickly as physically possible, often patching their wounds with Soma or a very expensive appointment with the fox.

"I still can't hear him," said Rise. "I know it should be getting stronger the higher we go, but …"

"This really doesn't seem like his sort of place, either," said Chie. Though she tried to keep her voice light, her expression was darkwith worry. "I-I mean, rainbows and clouds…? If I didn't know better, I'd say we were looking for you, Nanako."

Nanako forced herself to smile. "We can ask him when we get there," she said, firmly. "When we rescue him. When he gets back safely…"

And then she'd show Namatame exactly how Heaven couldn't match the fury of a Nanako unjustly wronged.

*

The rest had been a whirlwind of agonized worry — the fight, Souji's hospitalization, and all the rest. They took it in turns to hover over him, with Nanako taking the lion's share, of course. To her mild surprise, Doujima would join them as well, whenever the doctors allowed him to wheel about. Sometimes they would sit across from each other, Nanako holding Souji's left hand and Doujima holding his right. They rarely spoke, but the feeling was there all the same: your family is here, Souji. We're not letting go.

And then, the night they'd almost lost him. Nanako had had violent urges before — anyone would, given enough frustration — but pure blistering rage was something almost entirely unfamiliar to her. She wanted Namatame dead. She wanted him in Souji's place, dying in a hospital bed, rather than free to worm away like the bastard he was. It wasn't fair.

But somehow, she'd remembered something. A name stuck in her mind, spoken in a voice she'd only heard once: Adachi. Not Namatame. Even during his brief moments of lucidity, Souji hadn't had a reaction to that name. Adachi. Not Namatame.

When he got better, she'd have to thank him.

*

"He's really all right?" asked Nanako, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "A-after he…?"

"Miraculous recoveries do happen," said the doctor. "We'll monitor him, of course, but for now…"

Nanako nodded. Relief flooded through her, and threatened to start a fresh batch of tears — but she didn't care. If her little brother was okay, then she didn't care if she looked like a mess, or broke down in front of everyone. "Can I stay with him?" she said. "A little longer?"

"For a few minutes," said the doctor. "That's all."

With another nod, Nanako slid into her usual chair. "H-hey," she said, her voice wavering. "Don't scare me like that." She tightened her grip on his hand, hardly daring to look at him.

"Big … sis?"

Nanako looked up, startled. Although Souji's eyes still had that glassy, medicated look to them, he managed to give her hand a tiny squeeze. "Big sis is here," she said. "Your dad's here too." A weak laugh. "The doctors had to yell at him for pulling out his stitches. Again."

Souji nodded. "Big sis," he repeated weakly. "Dad. … me. Here?"

"That's right."

Her tiny cousin closed his eyes again, though not before shifting his free hand out from under the hospital bedsheets. He bent his thumb and pointer finger. "Three," he said, as his words blurred into unconsciousness. "Three."

"That's right," said Nanako again, much more quietly. "We're here."

--

A/N: Originally written for the P4 kink meme badbadbathhouse / LJ. Thank you to all the supporters who suggested I post this to . Archival LJ post can be found here.

This is the main fic, which I consider to be complete. All further fics in the series are "microfics," aka add-ons written after completing the original. I like to refer to them as (and counting), to match with 1+1+1. Obviously, reading the main fic is required for comprehension; after that, the microfics that follow can be read in any order. I will probably continue to post microfics as long as people are interested in seeing more material.